Trump Calls for Voter-ID Laws, Use of Paper Ballots as Backup

President Trump threw his support behind laws requiring valid identification to vote, arguing that such a move would ensure the “safety and sanctity of our voting system.”

Mr. Trump also called for using paper ballots as a backup, tweeting Tuesday afternoon that the method is “old fashioned but true!” He sent the tweet after giving a speech in Virginia.

The president has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that large numbers of people have voted illegally in U.S. elections. There is no indication that voter fraud has occurred on a broad scale. Opponents of voter-ID measures say efforts to enact identification requirements represent a veiled effort to suppress votes by creating hurdles for people who lack IDs, many of whom advocates say are disproportionately lower-income and people of color.

Congress is still grappling with how to improve election security three years after a widespread Russian campaign to disrupt the 2016 presidential election. In testimony on Capitol Hill last week, former special counsel Robert Mueller warned Moscow’s efforts to interfere in U.S. elections were continuing. “They are doing it while we sit here,” he said. “And they expect to do it during the next campaign.”

The House passed legislation in June that would provide more funding for election security and require the use of paper ballots—widely viewed by cybersecurity experts as among the best ways to guard against potential vote tampering. Senate Republicans have blocked votes on the legislation, saying that the money already awarded hasn’t been spent and that paper ballots could pose problems of their own.

Dozens of states have enacted some form of voter-identification requirement, with advocates saying such measures help minimize the risk of voting fraud. The issue remains highly controversial and has led to several court fights.

Mr. Trump has called for the adoption of voting machines with auditable paper trails before, but Tuesday was the first time the president did so on his preferred medium, according to a review of his Twitter postings. His tweet Tuesday appeared to link paper ballots with GOP pushes for more stringent voter-ID requirements.

“These are really two separate issues,” said David Becker, a former Justice Department official and founder of the nonprofit Center for Election Innovation & Research. “The voter-ID issue won’t do anything to prevent foreign interference in our elections, but providing funding to replace the few remaining paperless voting systems and audit those systems could be very helpful, if the president wants to support providing resources to the states to do that.”

Nationwide, nearly every state has taken steps toward instituting more paper-supported machinery since 2016, but Georgia, Louisiana and South Carolina still rely on paperless digital voting equipment. Another 10 states include some precincts that don’t offer paper trails, according to a new report on threats to the 2020 election from the Stanford Cyber Policy Center. Many cash-strapped states also rely on old voting equipment that can suffer routine Election Day malfunctions.

This week, Georgia said it had awarded a $107 million contract for 30,000 new voting machines to an election vendor that will replace the state’s old paperless equipment with new touch-screen systems that print out paper ballots.

110 comments:

Who , writes this GARBAGE ? Not one thing after "damaging" made any sense at all ! This crap has to be put together by some damn non English speaking want Abe citizen. The Media obviously does no longer proof read anything before it is dumped on the Internet or on print .The Media is just one big disgrace to this country and it's written language of ENGLISH !

Also need good patriots at the polls.to make sure the I'd is presented. ICE agents would be even better.I also think some signs in a few foreign languages that say Americans only or you will be deported.

Damn right I would. 100%. Only a country of idiots would allow people to vote without some form of identification to prove that potential voters are citizens and legal to vote. That's why almost all other countries require I.D. to vote in their elections.

There's more than enough proof of widespread voter fraud over the years. Precincts with greater than 100% population voting for Obama in 2012, Precincts voting 100% for a particular candidate (a statistical impossibility!) in Philadelphia is another example. There was a voter fraud ring caught in Texas, another conviction in Indiana for the same thing, it's not like this doesn't happen.

Anyone with a simple google search of "voter fraud" or just go to https://www.heritage.org/voterfraud and then come back and tell us that "voter fraud doesn't happen", so I can laugh in your face for the idiot you are.

Also, many other countries have Voter ID cards, even MEXICO, so don't say it's "racist", or "disenfranchises" people, that's a moronic argument.

If they want proof, I have proof. I've got the mail-in ballot that was sent to my grandmother during the last election. The problem is that she'd been dead for 17 years at that time. And yes, the numb skulls were made aware of it when she passed. I called the voter office and I formed them of the mistake. They actually told me to go ahead and fill it out in her place.

I fully support a federal law making it nesasary to have a picture voter ID card nation wide but only if the cards are issued by a federal agency and not state county or city because those levels of government can't be trusted to hand out dog tags let alone real ID cards.

How do these so called people living life without some sort of a picture ID? Do these people ever have a job or engage the Social Security system or drive a vehicle or any of the numerous other things you would need a ID for. It also makes it look like lower-income people or people of color do not have the intelligence or wherewithal to acquire an ID. It is all a bunch of Liberal bolony.

Yes of course this is a great idea to insure accuracy and no cheating. Now that Trump has iniciated this smart idea....I am sure the dem-socialist with fight it because they are oppositionist to our President....The dem-socialist will fight any good idea if Trump has come up with it.

Yes they all get disability and Social Security and food stamps and welfare they don’t have to have ID for that. But you let an American citizen go try to get it without a ID and he’s kicked out the door

I support you 150% Mr. President you’ve done a fantastic job keep up the good work. And if these idiots wire keep barking up the wrong tree they need to remember there’s a gun behind every blade of grass in the United States. Can people not afraid to use them.

What good is doing to just sit on our butts and type the same thing over and over again. The election in 2016 got us a President worth his salt but left us with a Congress that is dysfunctional on its best days and useless on the the rest. November of 2020 will possibly decide whether the United States of America remains a representative republic or slides into nothing more than one more socialist disaster. We need to vote for people who will swear to adhere to the Constitution.

Don't need any of that shit, just lock 'em in prison for voter fraud. It's called the deterrent affect, zero-tolerance, one strike and you're out. Pass out a few life-without-parole sentences for voter fraud and this shit will end. Funny how these fuckin' politicians talk tough on crime when the crimes are perpetrated by the citizens, but when it comes to crimes committed by government they don't know what to do.

I support a nation wide voter ID law, and you should be living to vote. All voter rolls by law must be updated and the system purged of voters that fail to vote after so many years because they are probably dead, however this is not being done like it should, like California and NY has more voters than it has people, Go figure Trump 2020!!!!

Yes, I cannot believe it's not already law. Every machine should print out two paper copies. Even if it were a 3d barcode that contains the voter's selections. One copy to the counting machine and a receipt for each voter.

In almost every State, All adult age persons are required to carry identification at all times. Even in Komifornia it is a misdemeanor to not be carrying identification on yourself at all times. At least if the Cop actually does his job it is.

Wrong. It is not a misdemeanor or any crime for that matter to not have ID on you. You must identify yourself if lawfully requested, and it’s against the law to provide false information. But it is NOT mandatory to carry a physical ID. Of course when driving you must have your drivers license on you, but we’re talking about an ID in general.

I'd like to know how someone as stupid as David Becker ever got hired at the Justice Department. To think that voter ID laws wouldn't prevent foreign interference in our elections is insane. President Trump was not wrong, the MSM lied. Millions of illegals did vote in 2016 and that is why he supposedly lost the "popular vote". That's also why the DNC is pushing for illegals to get to vote in the states they still hold hostage (CA, NY, IL).

USA - Kram - what you said is garbage. Damaging isn't even in the article and "obviously does no longer proof read" should be "no longer proof reads". I feel you were trying to comment on a different article, because what you said makes no sense. That said if you don't pay taxes or aren't legal, you have no right to vote! Additionally, "want Abe citizen" should be "want to be" or go ghetto and say "wanna be". Maybe you need an English lesson.....

If they are not a US Citizen and cannot provide proof of residency then they should no be allowed to vote accordingly to our Constitution. Those who try to pervert our Constitution including our Congress Senate and President. "We The People" are tired of the bs.

Absolutely need Voter ID and paper ballots are good also. And we need to post people at the poles to make sure there is no interference and ballots are being cast correctly. If we do not get a hold on this situation our country is lost.

Yes please. If it can be done legal and true with NO mistakes . We need for all our votes to be counted as true. No voting in 2 or 3 states. No " dead " voting. Clean it up. Watch all the states turn red.

Yes please. If it can be done legal and true with NO mistakes . We need for all our votes to be counted as true. No voting in 2 or 3 states. No " dead " voting. Clean it up. Watch all the states turn red.

And not only do you need ID to drive (legally), open a bank account, get health insurance, go to the doctor & claim said insurance, get things like decongestants OTC, collect welfare or SS etc, if you can't get to a gov't location to apply for a voter ID, they will provide transportation!

As an Illinois resident (soon to be a Louisiana resident) I agree with positive ID to vote. Additionally, Volunteer to be an election judge to help prevent voter fraud--most places PAY you to do it. I did it in 2018 and it pays $150 a day plus mileage in Illinois. Plus you get the pleasure of preventing illegal voters from casting a ballot because the election judge has the final say. I can't put in to words how much fun it was to bounce (cancel) 25% of the absentee ballots for mismatching signatures. It's up to US to stop voter fraud. Take a vacation day from work and double dip! America needs us! Just go to the county clerk or elections supervisor in some states and sign up. Super easy. I had to go to a 2 hour training class and I did election day and 2 days of early voting. I bounced a chitload of improper ballots too. Just the mileage was about $48 in addition to the $450 paycheck, not bad for a weekend's worth of work.

Indiana does have voted ID laws. You have to have your Driver's License or State Issued ID. This year, in 2019, it even scans your DL now and they ask if this is current address. Has cut way down on fraud in Indiana

AS FAST AS THE INK DRIES ON THE PAPER I WOULD AGREE. MAKE IT HAPPEN PRESIDENT TRUMP. WE LOVE YOU AS OUR COMMANDER AND CHIEF. TY FOR ALL THE WONDERFUL THING YOU HAVE ALREADY DONE WITH THE IDIOTS RIDING YOUR BACK. GOD BLESS YOU AND AMERICA

Yes... A requirement for VOTER ID... should be as stringent as the extra-ordinary hops that we have to go through in attaining a drivers license, with SPECIAL MEANS AND METHODS TO prevent ANY PERSON OF THAT IS NOT A LAWFUL CITIZEN, FROM BEING PERMITTED TO VOTE.

Check the names of the 1.5 million that they are taking off the voter rolls N B C Los Angeles February 7th 2019 To see if they were used fraudulently because who knows if they were it would be good to know

Votes from California & New York should not count in National Elections because those two... probably others... allow undocumented/non-citizens to vote with only a Driver License ID. Bring Birth Certificates or Tax returns... maybe BOTH! LOL

Absolutely. I am a Foreigner who holds a green card and I think the only people complaining about Voter ID are the Illegals who are not allowed to vote in Federal elections. I don't vote I leave that to my Kid's who are American's, I also leave it to my Ole Lady who is also an American. And yes I have a Drivers License so I could vote if I was allowed to. I can Vote in local elections but not in Federal elections but that's OK to me because I have 3 other votes that count. Ole Lady and 2 sons who vote just like I would.